A JAB OF REALITY

FAILURE to heed the lessons of the past means we are doomed to repeat them.

Parents who are not ensuring their children are fully vaccinated have to make the time in their busy lives, or to open their eyes to reality and ignore the ridiculous and false arguments of the anti-vaxxers.

Fifty years ago it was common to see the victims of terrible diseases like polio hobbling about or in wheelchairs. Everyone knew families in their towns who had a loved one confined to an iron lung for the rest of their lives. Funerals were held frequently for children killed by diphtheria.

In recent years, heartbreaking videos have emerged of babies turning blue and gasping for breath as whooping cough racks their tiny frames. Vaccinations halted polio and diphtheria. Whooping cough and measles outbreaks can be controlled if people are sensible about inoculations.

Gold Coast rates for five year olds are healthy and improved year on year, but are the lowest in the state. We shake our heads at the dangerous rate of vaccinations in the Byron Bay area, but must be vigilant here too in ensuring herd immunity.